Tall, Hot, with Sprinkles
by Admiral T. DeVanto
Summary: Ymir is stuck working in a small coffee shop because of a dare gone wrong. Good thing she's got a cute blond to keep her company, and no, it's not Krista.


The smell of coffee grinds filled Ymir's nose as she scrubbed at the counter. The rag was dirty already from where she had cleaned, but she couldn't care. At this point, she was bored, hot, and annoyed. With one elbow propped up and her chin resting on her hand, Ymir was the perfect picture of a miffed woman.

She was so going to kill Reiner for this.

She sighed, hearing her inner voice which strangely sounded like Krista say: _But Ymir, you were the one who accepted the dare, and you did lose. So own up to it and do your part._

She sighed, straightening up. Pushing a strand of brown hair back, she went back to scrubbing at a stubborn stain on the counter. Three more days. She only had three more days left until she could get out of here. With that thought in mind, she glanced out the window and noted that a _certain_ customer should be arriving with a _certain_ order.

"Hey Freckles! We've got a little lady over here who would like some coffee! Why don't you just do your job and serve her?"

With an annoyed grumble, Ymir leaned back to see the blonde customer standing at the front of the counter. Ymir narrowed her eyes when she noticed the familiar Scout uniform and the messy head of blonde hair.

Ah. There was the _certain_ customer.

Rolling her eyes, she leaned back. "Yo Joe!" she hollered. "That's not a girl!" With a huff, she walked right over and leaned against the counter. "What can I get for you hon?" She eyed him up and down. "Aside from a new haircut."

Armin raised an eyebrow, though his mouth twitched with some amusement. "I think I'll take my business elsewhere if you are going to comment about my hair," he said.

"Please don't," Ymir grumbled. "This place is boring as heck, and I'm already counting the days down until this stupid bet is off." Pulling out a notepad, she stared at him. "So what kind of a brew do you want?"

Armin frowned, looking at all the choices. This was what he had been doing for the past four days. Armin would come by and visit. He was never late when he ordered his brewed coffee, and he always asked her the same question, even though he was expecting the same answer. "Well, what would you recommend?"

Ymir tapped her pencil against the paper. She normally hated it when people asked her that, and it was only her first week working here! But with this cute blonde, she could let it slide...again.

She blinked, surprised at her inward thoughts. Did she just think Armin was cute? Boy, she must need some coffee herself.

"Well," she started. "We've got the coffee of the day, which is…" she trailed off, scrunching her nose. What had Joe told her the coffee of the day was? "It's coffee," she finished lamely.

Armin snorted in amusement. "You mean you don't know?"

"I know it has caffeine and that it's going to cost you extra for a whipped topping," Ymir replied defensively.

This time, Armin laughed. "Alright, I'll take the coffee of the day." He paused. "With the whipped topping."

Ymir nodded. "Got it. And how do you want it served?"

"How about tall, hot, and with sprinkles?" he stated.

Ymir nodded. "Got it. Tall, hot and with...sprinkles?" The full meaning of Armin's words set in, and she choked. She stared at him with wide eyes, causing Armin to blush and look away.

"Did you…" she stuttered. "Did you just make a reference to my freckles as sprinkles?!" She didn't know if she felt insulted or embarrassed.

Armin's blush grew. "Well, I didn't say it was a reference to you. But I'm not denying it either."

At that, Ymir cursed herself for jumping to hasty conclusions. But who knew Armin was even capable of flirting? She wondered if Eren had been coaching him. Wait...did Armin just call her hot?

Yeash, she was reading into this way too much. With a sigh, she glanced at the back counter. "Yo Joe! Get me one tall coffee of the day with whipping!"

"I HEARD THE CHICK FRECKLES!"

"Um, I'm a guy," Armin muttered. "You'd think he'd realize that by now since I've been coming over these past few days."

Ymir teasingly flicked his long blonde hair. "Like I said. You need a haircut."

"I like my hair!" he protested.

"And I know a good barber somewhere around here," she continued thoughtfully. She grinned when she noticed his flustered expression. "Or maybe I could cut your own hair." She leaned forward with a smirk. "Free of charge."

Armin met her stare suspiciously. "You? Cut my hair?" He shook his head. "Sorry Ymir. No one is getting anywhere near my hair."

She pouted. "But it looks so soft!" she exclaimed. As if to prove her point, she reached over and ran her fingers through his hair. Her eyes widened. "Woah, that is soft. What do you use to get it this way?"

Armin just stared at her as she continued feeling his hair. "Um, I use...soap. Now can you please stop petting my hair?"

Ymir withdrew her hand. "Sorry," she muttered. She glanced at him. "So, why do you make it a habit of coming by to see me?" At Armin's surprised look, she rolled her eyes. "Oh please," she scoffed. "You've been coming to see me for the past four days and ordering the coffee of the day every single time. What's up with that?"

Armin cleared his throat and seated himself at the bar stool. "Maybe it's because you looked so upset at being alone," he stated.

Ymir frowned. "I am not lonely!"

"I didn't say you were," Armin replied. He averted his blue-eyed gaze. "So, what made you get yourself stuck in this mess?"

It didn't go unnoticed by Ymir that he had avoided answering her question. She would have persisted in getting a straight answer out of him, but the sudden question he had asked caused her to scowl. "Stupid Reiner and his stupid dare." She wrung the rag. "He challenged me, and I accepted. And lost." Placing her hands on her hips, she stared at Armin. "It took you four days of coming here to ask me that? Did you think I was doing this for fun?"

Armin shrugged. "It took you four days for that murderous look in your eyes to dim somewhat." He then frowned thoughtfully. "Did this have anything to do with you attempting to use a new spinning maneuver on the ODM gear...while upside down?"

Ymir's cheeks reddened. "I don't want to talk about it," she muttered. She avoided looking at Armin and instead focused her intense glare on the cookie stand. That proved to be a mistake as her stomach served to remind her that she had missed breakfast. Dang it, she was still hungry! And those cookies she was smelling weren't helping matters at all! She turned her back on both Armin and the cookie stand to grab at the coffee that was already prepared.

Armin hummed. "Captain Levi was impressed and thought you were creating a new maneuver."

"Yeah, it felt impressive," she grumbled as she applied the freshly whipped cream. Her backside throbbed from the sore memory of when she had crashed. She sighed. "Anyways," she said. "Here's your coffee." She couldn't help but smirk. "Tall, hot and with sprinkles."

Armin blushed, but accepted the coffee. "Hey, I might take a cookie as well."

Oh, she wished she could too. With a long suffering sigh, she passed him the cookie. "Here you go," she said. "I might take a blonde, short cookie as well." She winked at Armin, causing his blush to return once more. He ducked his head and accepted the cookie in the green napkin. She watched him thoughtfully. "Hey, Armin, you didn't answer my question."

Armin looked startled. "What question?"

Ymir leaned forward, staring at him. "Why have you kept visiting me these past four days? And you better not say it's because I look lonely." Although, she wouldn't deny that she had felt lonely for a bit, and she did look forward to the times when Armin would walk through that door.

Armin looked sheepish, his cheeks turning red slightly. "Well, maybe I like the coffee."

She raised an eyebrow. "The coffee, or the barista?" At Armin's growing blush, she smiled. "You know, keep it up and people will get the wrong idea about us." She tapped her finger on the counter, wondering how he would respond to her statement. Would he buckle down and avoid answering? She wouldn't deny that she would be disappointed if he did.

But, Armin surprised her and met her gaze. "And what makes it such a wrong idea?" Armin countered.

Ymir paused. "It's not," she confessed, eyeing him. "If you're ok with it."

Armin looked up at her shyly. "I'm okay with it." He ran a hand through his hair, his blush fading to a slight pink that she strangely found adorable on him.

Huh. Armin was adorable in a way. Why hadn't she noticed that before?

Ymir shrugged. "Me too."

Armin cleared his throat. "Well, I guess I should be leaving." He got up with his cup, ready to walk out the door.

She sighed in slight disappointment. Did he have to go already? "Alright," she said reluctantly. She raised an eyebrow, trying not to look too hopeful. "Same time tomorrow?"

Armin paused, then smiled at her. "Yeah. Same time tomorrow."

Ymir found herself smiling back at him. "Sounds good." She glanced down as she felt her cheeks growing warm. Her heart skipped a beat when she saw the small green napkin with the cookie. "Hey!" she exclaimed. "You forgot your cookie!"

"I didn't order it for me," he said. He looked over his shoulder to smile at her, just as the door shut behind him.

Ymir stared where Armin had been, shocked. With a grin, she nibbled on the cookie and was already looking forward to the next time Armin would visit her.


End file.
